Your Obedient Servant
by TreacleTart301
Summary: A series of letters between Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge.


Cornelius,

As you no doubt know by now, Voldemort has begun his attempt to return to power. I have well placed sources that say that in the depths of the dark forest in Romania, small animals die in mysterious ways. A host of creatures has fled from the shadow that has taken it over. Our suspicion is that Voldemort's spirit is hidden there, possessing the animals to stay alive. If you act now, you can stop him before he begins to gain any momentum.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

* * *

Albus,

You'll have to forgive me if I'm skeptical, but I've heard nothing of the sort and I have the full weight of t the Auror's office behind me. I understand that you fear his return. I think we all do to a certain extent, but we must not result to paranoia and rumor mongering.

Please, feel free to contact me in the future when you have more concrete concerns.

Ever Your Obedient Servant,

Cornelius Fudge

* * *

Cornelius,

I must ask that you release my groundskeeper, Hagrid, from Azkaban. He was not guilty of the crime for which he was wrongfully expelled nor is he guilty now. He has been made into a scapegoat time and again due to his background, but you have a chance to end this now. You can release him and allow him to return to work. Better yet, you could pardon his original conviction and allow him to regain some semblance of normality within our community.

You have a chance to fix the mistakes the Ministers before you made. Do so and you could be remembered as the bravest Minister in history.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

* * *

Albus,

I'm beginning to dread letters marked with the Hogwarts seal.

The Ministry has our hands tied. Students are being petrified by an unknown creature and Hagrid has a previous conviction for keeping unsafe monsters within the castle. I have to be seen doing something. As I promised, as soon as the true culprit is apprehended, Hagrid will be released and allowed to return to work.

I wish there was something more I could do.

Your Obedient Servant,

Cornelius Fudge

* * *

Cornelius,

I implore you to hear reason. The mass breakout at Azkaban has nothing to do with Sirius Black as you so vehemently claim. It was the workings of Voldemort and you will see more if you do not immediately remove the dementors from control of the prison. As his power increases, they will naturally be inclined to follow him.

Replace them with Aurors and secure the prison now. It is of the utmost importance that we prevent any more of the loyal Death Eaters to rejoin their master. Without his army, Voldemort has a fraction of the power he once did.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

* * *

Albus,

Have you gone mad? Remove the dementors from Azkaban? At the moment they are all that is keeping us safe. And even if I were to consider your preposterous proposal, where do you expect me to find a sufficient amount of Aurors to staff the prison? Most of them are tied up with other issues around the country.

Furthermore, I'm quite disappointed to see your continuous proclamations that Voldemort has somehow returned from the dead and come to power. You should be focusing your energy on the real culprit, Sirius Black. I keep hoping that you'll see reason, but I'm becoming doubtful.

Ever Your Obedient Servant,

Cornelius Fudge

* * *

Cornelius,

You must stop this madness. Sirius Black is an innocent man. I have four witnesses, one of them a professor here at Hogwarts, willing to testify that they saw Peter Pettigrew, alive and well. Certainly, you must at least hear their testimony before condemning him to the dementor's kiss. To ignore this would equal murder of an innocent person, one who has already spent twelve years in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit.

Get ahead of this. Tell the media that you had no idea that he was innocent, but now that you know, you'll do everything in your power to right the wrongs of your predecessors. Be the hero in this story. Only you can save this man further victimization.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

* * *

Albus,

Do you sincerely expect me to believe the testimonies of three children who have likely been confounded? To use that as evidence is preposterous. And I won't even start on the testimony of Remus Lupin. I should've barred you from hiring him ages ago. Knowing what he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he's working with Sirius. It's a well known fact that creatures like him have dark proclivities.

No. I refuse to buy into your ludicrous stories. Sirius Black murdered the Potters and now he will pay as he should've long ago. The dementors and I will be arriving at Hogwarts within the hour. I expect him to be confined there when we arrive.

Ever Your Obedient Servant,

Cornelius Fudge

* * *

Cornelius,

What will it take for you to see reason? You are going to kill an innocent man for a crime he didn't commit. If you let this happen, I will not rest until society knows what you did. I suspect that neither will Harry.

Albus

* * *

Cornelius,

I would advise you to take the late Barty Crouch's words seriously. Several of the people present here have recounted what he said to you, but you seem set in ignoring them. He wasn't mad. He was trying to tell us something. From everything that Harry has described, it sounds as though he was fighting the effects of an Imperius Curse or some sort of mind control.

Prompt investigation would be the simple solution. Blaming this on Madame Maxime because of her heritage does nothing but show your prejudice against non-Purebloods. I implore you to move past your preconceptions and thoroughly look into this.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

* * *

Albus,

This has less to do with my prejudices and more to do with yours. You are an apologist of the disenfranchised and while that can be admirable, you are allowing yourself to be blinded by your compassion. You've allowed werewolves to teach at your school. You've defended a wanted murderer and loudly proclaim his innocence. You insist that someone who's been dead for years has come back from the grave. It's absurd and I've had enough.

I appreciate your concern, but you've lost touch with reality. VOLDEMORT IS NOT BACK!

Ever Your Obedient Servant,

Cornelius Fudge

* * *

Cornelius,

Of all the preposterous, idiotic things that you've done as Minister, this tops them all. If you'd like to go after me for my political speech, it's one thing, but I shall not allow you to attack Harry. After all that he's been through, he deserves better than this.

Only weeks ago did he witness the murder of one of his classmates. Now, it seems as if the Ministry has set out a smear campaign against him. I hope for your sake that it wasn't on your orders.

I also must insist that you look at the evidence surrounding you. Over the last few years, there has been increased muggle terrorism by Death Eaters, there have been massive breakouts from Azkaban, the Dementors are breeding more rapidly than ever, and people who were supposed to be long dead have returned from the grave. Voldemort has risen and is biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike. Don't be foolish enough to allow him the chance.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

* * *

Albus,

I am aware that you and Harry are in league against me. How long has it been your goal to chase me from my office? You already run Hogwarts? Isn't that enough? Why must you torment me so with your lies and made up stories? And to think I once considered you a friend.

As for Harry, I feel bad that he's been dragged into the center of this, but I must not allow him to throw the country into chaos. People are safe and I can't have him running around shouting about dark wizards. Mass hysteria is a dangerous thing.

Please, do not bother to write me again as we have reached a parting of the ways. I can no longer sit here and pretend that I approve of your nihilism.

Your Ever Obedient Servant,

Cornelius Fudge

* * *

 _Hi there!_

This story was originally posted on HPFF for The Hamilton Challenge. I was assigned to write a story inspired by the song Your Obedient Servant. The song is about the tenuous relationship between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, so I reflected that with the relationship between Dumbledore and Fudge, which grows ever more stressed as time passes.

I'd love to know what you thought of this, so feel free to leave a comment below!

Thanks for reading!

~Kaitlin/TreacleTart


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